It is because of the greatness of many parts – the animal morphing, the stunning visuals, brilliant audio and availability of many hidden collectables and secrets – that Lost Ember on Xbox One is able to provide a pretty unique experience that many gamers will love.

Based on an impeccable art direction, Lost Ember provides a very enjoyable and quite emotional experience but suffers from some technical issues that prevent it from being a must have.

Lost Ember is the latest game by German studio Mooneye. This walking simulator introduces us to the history of Kalani in his journey towards the City of Light in which we will know first hand the events that have taken us here. Taking the form of different animals to continue advancing the adventure, Lost Ember invites us to weigh on its vivid and varied scenarios as we discover its tragic history.

Overall, it’s hard to recommend Lost Ember thanks to performance issues and some questions about its narrative. There are certainly sights worth seeing here, but it ultimately feels more like an interesting start to something that isn’t as engaging as its contemporaries.

Lost Ember provided me an endless list of grievances at every turn, but that never stopped me from actively enjoying the game. It’s a technical mess with a terrible narrative and some poor design choices – but there’s just something so relaxing about running around the wilderness at your own pace. The gameplay’s done right, and there are some brilliant moments where everything comes together, but it’s hard to recommend a game in this state of disrepair.

Lost Ember has so much potential to be a real gem but is let down by it’s overwhelming performance problems. There are glimmers of the experience that could have been, if these problems were to be ironed out, especially as the game progresses and the story gains momentum. Lost Ember is well suited to players looking for a casual experience with simple mechanics and an intriguing narrative but only if they are also able to overlook some of the game’s unfortunate issues.